Ferris wheel type amusement ride



Dec. 16, 1958 M. R. CASTILLE 2,854,614

FERRIS WHEEL TYPE AMUSEMENT RIDE Filed Feb. 7, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Michel Rene Casfi/le INVENTOR.

By MM 5% Dec. 16, 1958 M. R. CASTILLE 2,854,614

FERRIS WHEEL TYPE AMUSEMENT RIDE Filed Feb. 7, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig2 Michel Rene Cas/i/le INVENTOR.

States Patent UT WHEEL r rE AMUSEMENT RIDE I MichelRene C'astille,flpelousasrLat Appliea iqn Feb uary 1, 1. eria asse 4 Claims. or.zyz-nss a The present invention generally relates to. an amusementdevice and more particularly to an' amusement ride specifically adaptedfor use in conjunction-with amusement parks, carnivals, fairs or othersimilar orientations in which persons riding the device will enjoy theride.

simultaneously and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain. 1

These together with other objects and advantages Which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the amusement ride device of thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the construction of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed sectional View illustrating themounting of the rotatable frame and other structural details takensubstantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of Figure 1;and

Figure 4 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 4-4 of Figure 1 illustrating the details ofthe driving mechanism for rotating the occupant cart about a' generallyvertical axis.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generallydesignates the amusement ride device of the present invention. Thisdevice generally includes a pair of upright support members 12 havinginclined braces 14 forming a supporting base With a power sourcedesignated by numeral 16 mounted adjacent thereto which may be anyconventional power source such as an electric motor or an internalcombustion engine with a suitable clutch mechanism being provided sothat the operator of the ride device may properly control the operationthereof.

The details of construction of the vertical upright support members 12and the braces 14 may be altered for 2,864,614 Pa n ed Dec 16, 958

. I 2 a i r v sp oc e 2. secure i ly t0 e p int of inte section of fourradial arms each of which is generally d gn t d y nu er 24- f The a alar s24. are i urnaled a a e se od 2.6 i n e i a acke or ol ar 28 on, tpri sup.- p members 4- he dr e spro k t, 2 may att e d t th a m y ui ale fastening bolts 0 w h the p eeke 2.2 e n n. al nmen w th a p ock drven t a n th p wer sou ce 6, w ereby h ra a nuns. 24 may be caused torotate about the transverse rod 26 which is stationary. The arms 24 maybe journaled on herei 2. b suit hear ngs 32 and. preve ted from enitusiina .nqoven n the s a ion y od 2.6 by n su ta l inean su h. ascellar er t ke Mounted ati ar ly o the s atinnary red 26 s a a o ry r 34hich s. elative y la ge n diamete and i lus a ed asi'h ins l sn sed tidieent s de f th amu emen ed device although it maybe disposed in themiddle thereof e apurpns'e descr ed he einsi et- Each of t e adia arms.2 ener lly ncl de a hai Qt paced paralle a 3.5 i te nheet d by an end mm er 36- "Di peser i en r y ent a y o th ails 5. is a tren e ha t 3.8.ha in id er gea .0 ionrnaled theree w th theidle ea be n in meshin e ae.- Inen w th he nlar ed s erf l- D sp sed exter q iy' .ef thetransverse shaft 38 is'a second transverse shaft 42 having an enlargedgear 44 journaled thereon which is in meshing engagement with the idlergear 40- whereby the enlarged gear 44 will be rotated on the shaft 42.Mounted on the enlarged gear 44 is a laterally extending bracket 46having a right angular bracket 48 attached thereto, the vertical legthereof being disposed inwardly. Rotatably mounted on the horizontal legis a vertical rotating stub shaft 50 having a chair or occupant cart 52mounted on the upper end thereof with the central portion of the shaft50" having a bevel gear 54 thereon. The bevel gear 54 is in meshingengagement with a similar beveled gear 56 mounted on the end of a shaft58 journaled in the vertical leg of the perpendicular bracket 48 andheld in rotatable position by collar means 60. An enlarged bevel gear 62is secured to the stationary shaft 42 and is in meshing engagement witha bevel gear 64 on the shaft 58 which extends substantially to the shaft42 and is journaled in a collar 66 as clearly shown in Figure 4.

In operation of the device, rotation of the arms 24 I about thestationary shaft 26 will cause the small idler permitting a constructionwhich may be easily disas- A chain drive is illustrated as including an.endless chain drive 18 driven from the power source 16 and provided withidler sprockets 20 together with an enlarged gears 40 to roll about thestationary gear 34 which in turn willcause rotation of the outerenlarged gears 44 so that the carts or chairs 52 will always bemaintained in an upright position while they revolve about an axisformed by the shaft 42 on the enlarged gear 44 and at the same timerevolve about an axis formed by shaft 26. As the gear 44 revolves aboutthe stationary shaft 42, the stationary gear 62 will cause rotation ofthe shaft 58 thus rotating the chairs or carts 52 about a vertical axisformed by the vertical supporting shaft 50. Thus, the occupants in thechairs or carts 52 will revolve about the center of the shaft 26 at thesame time as'they are revolving about the center of the shaft 42 androtating about a vertical axis formed by vertical shaft 50.

The meshing gears 34, 40 and 44 may be moved'to the central portion oftheir respective shafts and carts or chairs 52 may be mounted on bothsides of the outermost gears 44 for increasing the riding capacity ofthe device and wherever necessary, thrust collars may be positioned bysuitable setscrews for orientating the mechanism in the proper positionfor driving. Also, various anti friction type bearings may be employedwith suitable lubrication means for reducing the wear at wear points andincreasing the life of the device while reducing the power necessary todrive the same.

The device may be provided with entrance and exit ass-gem steps orplatform means 68 for facilitating the entry and exit of persons ridingthe device. The transverse end members 36 may be eliminated since therods 38 and 42 will generally rigidity the construction sufficiently andthis will enable better access to the chairs or carts. It is alsopointed out that the chair or carts may be provided with any acceptablesafety'bar, strap or the like.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly jjall suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An amusementride device comprising upstanding support members, atransverse r'od mounted stationarily thereon, a stationary gear mountedon said transverse rod, a plurality of radially extending arm assembliesrotatably mounted on said transverse rod, means for rotating said armassemblies about the transverse rod, an enlarged gear rotatably mountedon each radially extending, arm, an occupant cart rigidly mounted onsaid enlarged gear to rotate therewith, an idler gear in meshingengagement with the stationary gear and the enlarged gear for drivingthe enlarged gear as the radial arms rotate so as to maintain saidoccupant cart upright, and means for rotating the occupant chair about avertical axis during movement of the arms and the enlarged gear thusproviding rotation of the occupant about a vertical axis while theoccupant is revolving about the stationary rod and the rotational axisof the enlarged gear.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for driving theoccupant cart includes a stationary bevel gear, a radially extendingdrive shaft having a driven bevel gear mounted thereon in engagementwith the stationary bevel gear, a pair of bevel gears interconnectingsaid drive rod and said cart for rotating the cart upon rotationalmovement of the enlarged gear.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said cart is mounted on anL-shaped bracket, said bracket journalling said driverod, said carthaving a support shaft journaled on said bracket, one of saidinterconnecting pair of bevel gears being mounted on said support shaft.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said stationary bevel gear ismounted on a non-'rotative shaft extending UNITED STATES PATENTS 900,820Becker Oct. 13, 1908 1,640,038 Johnson Aug. 23, 1927 2,437,000 McBrideMar. 2, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 409,620 Great Britain May 3, 1934

